A Goodbye/Hello
by ilovemelissachapman
Summary: Some of the people here should be ashamed, they really should. A conversation between Mad Cow and me, one which should give others inspiration.


Mad Cow's Prelude: You people should be ashamed. I thought people here at ff.net were kind, wonderful writers. But instead, as one of my close friends, ilovemelissachapman, has pointed out to me, somepeople are downright nasty in their reviews. Look, I'm not opposed to bad reviews, but if all you do in the review is slam the story, then you aren't doing your job as a reviewer, which is to offer suggestions. If all you say is 'that sucked!!' or 'diediedie u bitch', then you're nothing more than a common flamer.   
So ilovemelissachapman came to me, and told me he wanted to retire from ff.net, all because of these awful people who have no consideration for the writer.   
He's posting this not only as an inspiration to struggling authors, but as something to show flamers that their victims have feelings.   
BTW, if anyone says in their review 'You should have retired' I will personally track you down and beat you up. Kapiesh?   
Also, Forlay and D.M.P., forgive me for discussing some of your not so good reviews in the conversation. You two were the first two I could think of to look up. :D   
~MC~   


ilovemelissachapman : hi mad cow   
Mad Cow: 'lo   
ilovemelissachapman: brb   
ilovemelissachapman: back   
Mad Cow: k   
ilovemelissachapman: well i know u had sucess at fanfiction.net but i have not so im annocing my retirement me ilovemelissachaspman says goodbye to fanfiction.net   
ilovemelissachapman: its true this is a true story   
Mad Cow: What do you mean, no success?   
ilovemelissachapman: everyone hates my stories   
Mad Cow: *snort* Having everyone love your stories isn't success!   
Mad Cow: Success is being happy with your own work.   
ilovemelissachapman: yes it is everyone hates mine u read the reviews   
ilovemelissachapman: everyone hates my stories   
Mad Cow: oh, c'mon. You're not hated. It's rare for newbies to be worshiped from the start. Besides, its some of your first fics.   
Mad Cow: Have you read any of MY first fics?   
ilovemelissachapman: yes   
ilovemelissachapman: they will be happy im gone   
Mad Cow: No, you havent   
ilovemelissachapman: lol   
Mad Cow: Trust me, my first fics, had I published them anywhere (which I didnt) would get awful reviews   
ilovemelissachapman: listen im gone everyone hates me there happy im gone i bet   
Mad Cow: Besides, everyone gets bad reviews.   
Mad Cow: No, they wont be. You're bringing fresh new talent to the Aniscene.   
ilovemelissachapman: im retiring and that final i have 13 stories left the write them everyone will say they suck   
Mad Cow: Our section of ff.net is slowly dying. We need everyone writing that we can   
ilovemelissachapman: i know but everyone hates melissachapmasn but i love her   
Mad Cow: maybe you need to expand your horizions. Write stuff that isn't just geared for her.   
ilovemelissachapman: i cant i love her   
ilovemelissachapman: i have a survivor story ready but im not puting them up everyone will say they suck that why im giving them to u   
Mad Cow: so? I am a huge Marco fan, yet occasionally I write stories not in his direction.   
ilovemelissachapman: oh   
Mad Cow: (Even if it's only to splatter Jake with horse poop-MWHAH!)   
ilovemelissachapman: lol   
ilovemelissachapman: im giving my stories to u im retiring   
Mad Cow: Damn fanfiction.net! Connect me!!   
Mad Cow: Not if I can help it.   
ilovemelissachapman: i am mad cow   
Mad Cow: Did you know some of my first poems were rejected for publishing at Mousie's Animorphs?   
Mad Cow: But did I let that stop me? No.   
ilovemelissachapman: they were my survivor stories probaly suck   
Mad Cow: Don't write just for reviews, my friend. Write because you love to write, you feel the writing deep inside of you.   
ilovemelissachapman: i will think about it but right now im retired   
Mad Cow: Don't gear your stories toward and audience. If you do what you love and love that you do, then reviews shouldn't mean anything besides possible comments for revision.   
ilovemelissachapman: whydo they have to have reviews at this website people feel rejected   
Mad Cow: "What do you do when you get rejected? Try, try again." -Complete idiots Guide to Publishing Sicence Fiction   
Mad Cow: Its go give ideas for improvements   
ilovemelissachapman: ok i will think about it right now im retired ok mad cow   
Mad Cow: "But remember: A [reviewers] suggestions are just suggestions." -CIGTPSF   
ilovemelissachapman: ok   
ilovemelissachapman: i dont know i will think about it mad cow   
Mad Cow: "Getting rejected is an intergral part of the process of breaking out in the field." -CIGTPSF   
ilovemelissachapman: ok   
ilovemelissachapman: im still thinking about it   
Mad Cow: "Rejection hurts. Kate Wilhelm, on of the founders of Clariton Workshop, is famous for having her students hold their manuscripts aloft and recite, 'This is me, that's my story.' You are not your story! When a story gets rejected, it's story thats rejected, not the writer." -CIGTPSF   
ilovemelissachapman: ok i have reached my desision   
ilovemelissachapman: im retiring that my final answer   
Mad Cow: not if I can help it. Tell me: Why are you REALLY retiring?   
ilovemelissachapman: because of mean people giving badreviews   
Mad Cow: You said it: Mean people. Often, nice people don't bother. I only review a fic if it either makes me laugh out loud, or if it really touches me. But that doesn't mean the ones I don't review I don't like.   
ilovemelissachapman: listyen to mad cow they dont like my stories so that it im gone never to see again on fanfiction.net   
Mad Cow: Look, why do you care? Why should you care that some people don't like your stories? If you keep writing, eventually you'll get better and better.   
Mad Cow: I'm still on that road. If I let every bad review get to me, I'd never write again! I've gotten loads of bad reviews. Sure, they sting a little, but I keep trying, and you should too, or you'll be letting talent go to waste.   
ilovemelissachapman: no i wont im giving up this is turning out just like my 5th grade story   
Mad Cow: Look, how old are you?   
ilovemelissachapman: 12   
Mad Cow: 12. Exactly. A lot of us are 14, 15+. You're a younger author trying to make it. We've had time to grow, you're still dealing with new talent.   
ilovemelissachapman: but im retiring u cant stop me im retired   
Mad Cow: You can't retire at 12!!   
ilovemelissachapman: lol on a website i can   
Mad Cow: If you love writing, then YOU SHOULDN'T CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK!   
ilovemelissachapman: i should of never wrote the date   
Mad Cow: ff.net is just a place to publish what you write   
ilovemelissachapman: i dont care   
Mad Cow: I should have never written the sex scene in Senior Summer. But I did, and I got thwapped for it. But I didn't quit, I kept writing   
ilovemelissachapman: lol   
Mad Cow: I think your main problem is lack of being gramatically correct, spelling, etc. That caused alot of bad reviews for me in my 'younger days'   
ilovemelissachapman: huh   
Mad Cow: Then I got spellcheck, a dictionary, a BETA reader, and kept going   
Mad Cow: People don't like spelling errors.   
ilovemelissachapman: well i dont know what to do i will get back to u   
ilovemelissachapman: and that a rap will leave it to a sequel   
Mad Cow: Hey, am I startin g to get through?   
ilovemelissachapman: yes   
Mad Cow: Yay!   
Mad Cow: Look. Read the review someone once sent Forlay: "i don't really like Animorphs very much anymore, but i can definitely say this: That was sick. Plain sick. Just horrible. How do you people sleep at night, being so gross, with all those gross thoughts? I'm going to write to K.A.A. about this, and she'll be SPEWING!!"   
ilovemelissachapman: wo that a bad review   
Mad Cow: see? If she had let that get to her, than we wouldnt have so many of her good fics.   
ilovemelissachapman: cool   
Mad Cow: "crap" someone said that in one of D.M.P.'s reviews.   
ilovemelissachapman: that it i know what im gonna do im gonna put up my animorphs survivor and i dont carewhat they say   
Mad Cow: "~yawns~OK,that was waaaay too boring.I stopped reading right in the middle.Too much Star Wars." -Another DMP review   
Mad Cow: So you're not retiring! Yay!   
ilovemelissachapman: ok thanks mad cow u really helped   
Mad Cow: *grins* My secret pan worked! MWHAHAA!   
Mad Cow: "That sucked!!!!!!!!!!!!" Another DMP review   



End file.
